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Nicklas Backstrom collected two more helpers in Sunday's 2-0 win over the Bruins.

Oddly enough, neither assist was all that remarkable as the chain of possession simply wasn't broken after his passes. Still, they count just the same. Backstrom now has 53 assists and is tied with Alex Ovechkin for the team lead in points with 71. Mar 15 - 10:58 PM

Nicklas Backstrom (illness) is ok to suit up Wednesday night versus the Rangers.

Backstrom missed the Capitals practice Tuesday morning but deemed himself ok to play in Wednesday’s game versus the rival Rangers. It’s been another superb year for Backstrom who is tied with his teammate, Alex Ovechkin, for second in the league in scoring with 69 points. He also ranks first in the NHL with 51 assists and first in power play assists with 26. He is one of the best fantasy players out there right now so make sure to get him back in your lineup if you had him on your bench due to the illness. Mar 11 - 7:52 PM

Nicklas Backstrom (illness) is expected to play Wednesday even though he skipped the morning skate.

He missed Tuesday's practice as well because of an illness. "I expect him to play tonight," coach Barry Trotz said. "Obviously he is battling a little bit of sickness. From all indications, he came down today. We're not going to recall anybody, so I expect him to play." Backstrom hasn't been on the ice since Saturday's game against Buffalo. Mar 11 - 4:45 PM

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Nicklas Backstrom (illness) is ok to suit up Wednesday night versus the Rangers.

Backstrom missed the Capitals practice Tuesday morning but deemed himself ok to play in Wednesday’s game versus the rival Rangers. It’s been another superb year for Backstrom who is tied with his teammate, Alex Ovechkin, for second in the league in scoring with 69 points. He also ranks first in the NHL with 51 assists and first in power play assists with 26. He is one of the best fantasy players out there right now so make sure to get him back in your lineup if you had him on your bench due to the illness.

Nicklas Backstrom (illness) is expected to play Wednesday even though he skipped the morning skate.

He missed Tuesday's practice as well because of an illness. "I expect him to play tonight," coach Barry Trotz said. "Obviously he is battling a little bit of sickness. From all indications, he came down today. We're not going to recall anybody, so I expect him to play." Backstrom hasn't been on the ice since Saturday's game against Buffalo.

Nicklas Backstrom recorded two assists in a 5-3 win over Columbus Tuesday night.

Backstrom is leading the league with 49 assists this season. The next best player is Philadelphia's Jakub Voracek with 46. Backstrom also has 18 goals, which puts him in a tie with teammate Alex Ovechkin for the NHL's scoring lead.

Nicklas Backstrom scored twice on the power play and added an assist as the Capitals blew past the Jets 5-1 on Thursday night.

Backstorm now has 18 goals and 63 points through 59 games this season with six of those points coming in the past three games. Backstrom would need 38 points in the final 23 games to match his career high set in 2009-2010, which appears to be a longshot. Nonetheless, the 27-year-old wizard is looking as good as ever this season under Barry Trotz.

Nicklas Backstrom had a goal and an assist in a 4-0 win against Los Angeles.

Backstrom has only been held off the scoresheet once in his last eight games. On top of that he's had three multi-point contests over the span of four matches. He now has 16 goals and 54 points in 51 games this season.

Nicklas Backstrom recorded two assists in a 4-0 win against Pittsburgh.

Backstrom extended his point streak to five contests. He has 15 goals and 50 points in 48 games this season. As long as he stays healthy, he should be able to keep this up and consequently reach the 80-point mark.

Nicklas Backstrom is a prime candidate to be a replacement all-star after Thursday's news that Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will miss the Jan. 25 classic in Columbus.

Backstrom has had a terrific season thus far with 15 goals and 47 points in 46 games. The 27-year-old has been an essential part of the Caps' season, helping the team build a 12-point cushion on the Metropolitan's final playoff spot. Backstrom has never been to the all-star game before.

Nicklas Backstrom got a goal and an assist in Washington’s 5-4 loss to the Stars on Saturday night.

Backstrom made things interesting with a goal late in the third period to draw the Capitals to within one. He also had an assist — his 32nd — on Alexander Ovechkin’s goal earlier in the frame. Ovechkin also picked up an assist. Backstrom is putting together another sensational season, with 14 goals and 46 points. Andre Burakovsky and Eric Fehr netted the other goals.

Backstrom has 13 goals and 40 points in 40 contests in 2014-15. At the age of 27, he's firmly established himself as someone capable of providing fantasy owners with roughly a point-per-game and we anticipate him maintaining his current pace for the rest of the season.

Nicklas Backstrom scored his 11th goal of the season to give the Washington Capitals a 2-1 victory over the visiting Ottawa Senators Monday night.

Backstrom's goal, at 19:25 of the second period, broke a 1-1 tie and turned out to be the game winner. Jay Beagle, with his fifth goal of the season, gave the Caps a 1-0 lead at 13:59 of the second period.

Depth Charts

Nicklas Backstrom collected two more helpers in Sunday's 2-0 win over the Bruins.

Oddly enough, neither assist was all that remarkable as the chain of possession simply wasn't broken after his passes. Still, they count just the same. Backstrom now has 53 assists and is tied with Alex Ovechkin for the team lead in points with 71.

Alex Ovechkin scored a pair of goals in Washington's 5-2 win over the New York Rangers.

Ovechkin opened the scoring at the 4:32 mark of the first period and his second goal tied the game at two in the second period. Ovechkin has proved that he is still one of the premiere snipers in the game. He has 49 goals and 75 points in 75 games this season. Jason Chimera (twice) and Marcus Johansson also scored for Washington.

Glencross has played the majority of his career with the Calgary Flames (418 games) but the 32-year-old started his career with the Anaheim Ducks and also played in Columbus and Edmonton. He was dealt to the Capitals on March 1 and has four goals and six points in 10 games. Congratulations to Glencross on the accomplishment.

Ward has 15 goals and 26 points in 64 games in 2014-15. There was a report that Chicago might be interested in the services of Ward, but Chicago might be done dealing after acquiring Antoine Vermette and Kimmo Timonen. Still, it's something worth keeping in the back of your mind as we move towards the 3:00 p.m. ET trade deadline.

Jason Chimera potted a pair of goals in Washington's 5-2 win against the Rangers on Sunday.

He scored two goals in the third period, including the game winner, to give the Capitals some much-needed secondary offense. Chimera entered the match on a 20-game goalless slump. He also didn't have a point in his previous 10 outings.

Matt Niskanen scored the overtime winner and added an assist as the Caps toppled the Devils 3-2 on Thursday night.

Niskanen beat Cory Schneider early in the extra frame to save the Caps, who blew a lead in the final minute of regulation. Niskanen's pair of points gave him five points in his last four games. On the year, the 28-year-old has 26 points in 74 games.

John Carlson blasted his 11th goal of the season, opening the game's scoring mid way through the first period. The Capitals would go on to win 2-0.

Carlson's goal came with the man advantage, his third such tally of the season. He also contributed five blocks in over 21 minutes of work. He ranks third on the team in points with 47, with a dozen coming on the power play.

Alzner also recorded two hits and two blocked shots during the game. While not always used in fantasy leagues, those categories are arguably more relevant to Alzner given that he's not an offensive defenseman. He has four goals and 13 points in 50 contests.

It looks like Tim Gleason (upper body) will be back in the lineup on Thursday.

He has sat out two straight games with an upper-body injury. Gleason practiced alongside Mike Green on Monday and felt like he probably could've played this past Saturday. His potential return is expected to land Nate Schmidt in the minors.

Braden Holtby will get the start versus the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night.

With just six games to go, the Capitals come in sitting three points back of the Islanders and Penguins in the Atlantic, and three points ahead of the Bruins in the Wild Card. But most of all, six points clear of the Senators who sit outside of the playoff bubble. Holtby for his part comes in with a 37-19-9 record with a .923 save percentage and a 2.21 GAA through 67 games this season. He's also among the league-leaders with 42 Quality Starts and seven Really Bad Starts.